Join the Oakland Institute & Priority Africa Network for the Bay Area Premiere of The Herakles Debacle

Massive deforestation portrayed as sustainable development: the deceit of Herakles Farms in Cameroon

A new report and film by the Oakland Institute (report in collaboration with Greenpeace International)

A panel discussion with experts and campaigners from RELUFA, Save Wildlife Fund, and the Oakland Institute will follow the film to provide an overview of the situation and resistance from impacted communities and solidarity networks.

In 2009, Herakles Farms, a New York based company, through its subsidiary, SG Sustainable Oils Cameroon, Ltd. (SGSOC), acquired over 73,000 ha of land in Cameroon for a palm oil plantation, through a lease of 99 years, paying $0.50 - $1.00 per ha.

From its very name, American-owned SG Sustainable Oils Cameroon, Ltd. (SGSOC) presents a pro-environment, pro-resources image. This is supported by an impressive-sounding partnership with an NGO by the name of All for Africa and as a package typifies the kind of convoluted modern-day foreign investment going on in Africa.

Herakles claims that its project will provide sustainable development including jobs, roads, health care, and even environmental protection. It is sadly all too familiar to communities on the ground. According to the locals, the Herakles plantation which would cover over 30 forest villages and threatens their livelihoods and an ancient forest at the heart of the wider Congo Basin rainforest - the world's second-largest after the Amazon - is a land grab!